Robert De Castella’s vision for future Indigenous athletes

Legendary marathon runner Robert De Castella will be taking part in tomorrow’s City to Surf in Sydney.

Already doing incredible work for the Indigenous community through the Indigenous Marathon Foundation, De Castella will be running alongside a group of kids who have come from remote communities.

He said the initiative has grown since the Foundation was launched in 2010.

“We probably have about 60-70 Indigenous runners, which is incredible considering before we started the IMF in 2010 there would only be a handful of Indigenous runners participating in this event,” De Castella told Weekend Afternoons.

The 14km course is only the start for some of those participating.

A select few will go and take on the grueling 42km New York City marathon.

De Castella says it won’t be long before we see another aspiring Indigenous athlete take it to the next level.

“Considering we select a group of 18-30 year olds every year who have done no running, and in 6 months they are running the New York City Marathon, their physiology to get them strong enough to run 42.2km in 6 months.

“One day we will see superstars come out of Indigenous Australia just like Cathy Freeman.”

Despite winning the City to Surf event in his prime in 1977, these days his focus is on promoting a healthy lifestyle and mind.

“There is a saying – If you want to get fit, go and run 10km. If you want to change your life, run a marathon.”